My aunt threw a big bash for my cousin's 50th
birthday last month. She had it at the church
social hall and there were 70 or 80 people - about
40 family and close friends and about that many
church friends. My aunt did a lot of the cooking
but lots of others contributed food. I made Gado
Gado. The recipe is below.

I ate up all my leftovers over the next week but
ended up with some of the peanut sauce left with
nothing to put it on. I had a hunk of pizza dough
in the freezer so I thawed that out and baked a couple
of potatoes. I topped the dough with the peanut sauce,
topped it with Swiss cheese (that's just what I happened
to have on hand), and scattered chunks of baked potato
over it. I then sprinkled it with some of the fried
shallot flakes and fried garlic flakes that I had used
as garnish for the salad. It wasn't too bad at all.
I think a few tomatoes would have helped but they were
all gone. A very interesting concoction.

KACANG SAUS
(Peanut Sauce for Gado Gado)

1 12-oz. jar natural peanut butter*
1 14-15-oz. can coconut milk
juice of ½-1 lime
2-3 T. gula jawa (Indonesian brown sugar) or regular brown sugar
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2-4 T. soy sauce
crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I probably used
about 2 t. - it wasn't particularly hot - you could
use 1 T. or more if you like it really hot)

Saute onions in a little peanut oil until soft. Add garlic part way
through. Continue over medium low heat. Add peanut butter and stir
until it has warmed and softened. Gradually blend in coconut milk to
make a smooth mixture. Add soy, sugar, lime juice, and red pepper. Add
water to bring mixture to correct consistency, which should be about the
thickness of hot fudge sauce. I may have added a cup or more of water.
This sauce should be served slightly warm or at least at room temperature.

*I usually buy raw peanuts and deep fry them until golden and then grind
them in my food processor. Sometimes I will just buy dry roasted
peanuts and grind them. This time I wanted to save time and work so I
used natural peanut butter. The only problem was that oil kept
separating out of the sauce when it was heated. I never had this
problem before. A little warm water added to the sauce will make the
oil go back into the sauce.

GADO GADO
(Indonesian Salad with Peanut Sauce)

Use whatever you want, but traditional veggies, et al., a
parboiled cabbage
parboiled green beans
tomatoes
cucumbers
boiled potatoes
fried tofu
hard-boiled eggs
blanched mung bean sprouts

I used:
tomatoes
cucumbers
boiled potatoes
hard-boiled eggs
fried tofu
red bell pepper
jalapeno peppers
blanched snow peas
shredded lettuce

This tastes best if everything is room temperature, not cold from the
fridge. Arrange various items over shredded lettuce on your plate and
top with peanut sauce. Sprinkle garnishes over the salad.

Garnishes:
Indonesian fried shallots
Indonesian fried garlic

Accompaniment:
Krupuk (Indonesian shrimp crackers)

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?